#julie (power)s (couple)

[rabbitmotifs]

and if i said power couple...

[pepsifox88]

Here I am participating on the last day of McFly July for Pepsi Free Day ! Hahahaha just like last year ! I decided to just post fairly old art of mine from way back (which I haven't shared) Really am glad of how it turned out !

Imma treat you all with a drawing featuring . . .

❤️ 💙 ❤️ 💙 Marty & Jennifer 🩷 💜 🩷 💜

Ending off on a sweet note here folks ! A good ol fashion traditional pencil drawing ! Seriously ! There's not enough fanart of both of them together ! I plan to change that hahahaha since I love both of them very much and I just think they're the most sweet and wholesome old school high school movie couple ever !

Be on a lookout ! I'm definitely going to be drawing these two together more often !

Until next time folks !

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

[bcacstuff]

Day 3 Highlanders 7 con 21 July 2024 at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham

Charles Q&A

They only let him do some stunts. The apple "may have" already been cut in half 😅

At his first OL audition (over zoom from his bedroom), he did a Peaky Blinders accent because thought the English all have the same accent - he works hard on it, accents don't come naturally to him

William inherited the "good Fraser fire" from Jamie but learned how to be reserved (a "board") from LJG so he often feels the conflict within himself what he is vs what he was "trained" to be

One of the auditions (all on zoom) was the Death Song scene with JB - it was weird for him to see these "fictional characters" in real life. Couldn't mention the other audition scenes because they're 7B spoilers

He had phantom pain in his arm from the stick. They sent him to London to have a mold made of his arm

He has no piano in his flat but would go to the Edinburgh train station and use the public piano

Dream role: anything - "I love employment" but likes characters that exist between good and evil

Superstitions: not for acting but the supernatural - hasn't used a Ouija board because he doesn't know if they work but what if they do??

William is "a bit of a shit" and a "brat" when we first meet him in 7A

They did audition someone else for William for S6 (those episodes would have been late in 6) but he would have been too young. Since they shortened 6, they didn't cast William until later.

Someone asked whether he was intimidated by S&C. The audience member then went on telling a story how Caitlin before she got to set, was told S&C were a "power couple" and together in real life. Then when she got there she was told opposite (you could hear people gasp when she said that)

While Charles really didn't answered above, he later on was asked what his favourite movie is, he didn't really have one but said he really loved Ford vs Ferrari, so when he met Caitriona he thought "Whoa"

Mom had watched the show but he binged it in 2 weeks when he got the audition - didn't have the part yet

Felt imposter syndrome and a lot of pressure - do I want to take on being Jamie Fraser's son?

Ultimately LJG is William's dad but important for him to find out who is he to learn about himself

This convention is "so fun" because they couldn't answer any questions during the strike and all they were asked were things like "what's your favourite colour"

Scenes that stuck out when he binged: Claire and BJR in Garrison Commander; the shinty scene

Doesn't have a go-to karaoke song - has never done karaoke. But he would do something like Tequila so all he has to say is 1 word (then they played it when he was leaving the stage)

Sophie, Richard & David

Sophie is apparently a favourite "on the internet" to play Harry Potter's mom in the HBO series. She says "I'm working on it" (ie she'd like to do it).

Their favourite locations to film - Sophie Lallybroch (inside and what they created on set); Richard - University of Glasgow; David - Hopetoun House

David making fun of the questions they always get asked (what would you take from set; what other characters would you like to play) - everyone laughs

If they could play another character, Sophie would play Rollo

Certain scene they were really proud of - Sophie birthing scene "broke some blood vessels"; David never thinks he does well - could have done it differently especially the scene where Jamie offers his body;

What cocktail would your character be: Sophie - Spicy margarita; Richard - Old Fashioned; David Pina Colada because he likes the song (doesn't know any cocktails - people were shouting them out to him)

What would you like to learn how to do: David - Magic the Gathering - watched them play last night and wants them to teach him before wrap; Richard is learning to fly

Which time period do you prefer - Brianna 50/50 - Sophie 1700s "corsets aside" especially since they're all filming together. Richard agrees. David: Lord John in modern times is living in the West Village in NYC running an art gallery called Fraser's 🤣🤣

Karaoke songs: Richard's - Piano Man; David - To be With You (Mr Big): Sophie - Party in the USA

Favourite costume - Richard "from this year" but didn't say which one (didn't want to spoil anything); David - Governor of Jamaica (Sophie says you've had some really good costumes and David said you just realized that???)

Favourite scene to film: Richard - driving around the Highlands (felt like our own little "side Outlander"); Sophie - when she confronts Bonnett in the jail (felt very empowered); David - first day, first scene he filmed dragging Sam on the horse "was a highlight on reflection"

Everyone is treated the same by production

Sophie used to be the makeup trailer DJ but Wendy has taken over

The first scene with Roger & Jamie was fun to shoot but he felt Jamie had "a bit of an overreaction"

What are you obsessed with? Richard - Magic the Gathering; David - his son; Sophie - music

Any scenes that you were intimidated by: David one coming up in 7B (we should all know what it is); Richard - intimate scenes; Sophie - ones that are emotionally challenging and you "take with you"

Question about what you're proud of. Sophie tells the story of when she potty-trained her dog. The dog became so excited he jumped on her, split her lip and she ended up in the emergency room. David then says "do you know what proud means??" • Richard - passing his driving test because he failed 3x; David - when he finished his first block of OL

Character you haven't worked with you would like to - Richard & David said each other. Richard: maybe in the next block then Sophie says "but you're in the 80s", someone mentioned Jemmy and the stones and it just went downhill from there 😅; Sophie - Black Jack

During closing ceremonies everyone is taking photos and Cree (of course) says "go on take your photos like we're animals in a zoo". Then he says something about a "gaggle of lusty women" and Sean says "there is if your name is Sam Heughan"

Sean had organized other fan events then started watching Outlander. He wanted to do an event and learned the person to contact is Steve Himber as he "represents" Sam and Caitriona to get it started. Then Steve says he's "not responsible for Steven Cree"

All credits including pics to my friend at the con (who wishes to remain anonymous) Thank you so much for keeping notes for us (and for me to post!) Great Job, well done! 🧡🧡🧡

[cirqosmos]

𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐬: 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 | 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝟐

2023 | 18+ | SERIES | ENHYPEN OT6 × READER | MASTERLIST

SUMMARY with the absolute order from the highest celestials, six high ranking angels were sent to capture and condemn you—an exceedingly sinful and overpowering succubus to the holy tower for eternity. Capturing you might not be so difficult with them outnumbering you, but the question is; would they be able to keep ignoring your irresistible charms while staying firm to their principles, abiding by the rules, and reciting their prayers forever?

GENRE angels and demons au, romance, reverse harem, angst, fluff, smut

WORD COUNT 2.5k

AUTHOR'S NOTE this will be the last teaser for this series. By the time I released Route 1's finale, and the first episode of Royal Series. I'll start working on this EP which is the first day of July.

Bounding you inside the holy tower, on the round glowing pattern that had you kneeling down with your wrist, neck, and legs all tangled with the rusty metal collar that prevented you from escaping was quite an easy feat for them. However the powerful ritual spell that they formed together by infusing their respective powers on you had them vomiting out blood causing them to grow unbelievably weak. For a couple of minutes bounding you with their entire strength, they thought they could’ve died at that moment, but fortunately they didn’t.

Atleast that’s what Sunoo thought, as he playfully twirls his bead necklace as he watched you on your knees yet sleeping peacefully, a sight that he hadn’t expected to be quite captivating to him, to say the least. He frowned at that very thought, wondering if you had any power left in you as the holy tower was designed to pinned your spells down, so there’s no way he could be affected by you, right?

He had been assigned by Heeseung to watched over you for a whole month before they completely seal you in this tower for eternity, and suck your remaining power out of your cultivation. The rest of the five are to recuperate in their respective quarters to regain their power and cultivate so they are able to completely overpower you and not to fall upon the same fate that day.

Sunoo lowered himself down, taking a seat on the floor as he placed his chin on his hand, tilting his head as he memorise your features. He thought that you truly live up to your status as a succubus, for you were truly enchanting. The fact that you once live in heaven was quite shocking to him, he wondered what could’ve you done to have the gods banishing you. Sure, he knew the list of what could one do to receive such punishment, but curious he was about what you truly did.

You’ve been sleeping for way too long, Sunoo thought as he lets out a dejected sigh—seemingly disappointed. It has been nearly two weeks since he was here, but you’ve never open your eyes, and the first and last time he had communicated with you was only on the day they were trying to capture you.

For awhile, he had a slight urge to tuck your hair strands covering your face behind your ear but refused to do so as it would be unnecessary.

But he remembered your words, a faint blush dusting over his fair cheeks and he immediately cupped his cheeks with his hands, feeling the sensation—heating up due to his unusual thoughts. Shaking his head and cringing, he’s only being affected by you for being in your presence for too long, that must be the answer, isn’t?

The sound of rattling chains had him alerted, immediately turning his head towards your eyes opened, the strand of your hair falling down your cheek as you look up to him. His lips hang apart, unsure of how to act, but the fact that he was stuttering had him mentally slapping himself. What was he suppose to do now that you were awake? Talk to you or what? You don’t need food either, when you actually feed on..

“Boy, why don’t you come over here?” his head grew dazed for a split second, and his feet betraying him against his will before he froze. Wait, you can’t be having any power left in you. So why was he getting affected? He stood there contemplating of what to do, and finally coming into conclusion that he shall stay silent while watching over you.

Of course, him staying silent was met with a twitch on your eyebrow—annoyed you were. You truly were unable to do anything but wait for the day you’re going to be sealed here forever.

“Are you shy?” You asked, and the boy raise his foxy eyes on you along with his eyebrow. “Because if you weren’t, you would be talking with me, you know.”

Again, he remain silent.

You lazily look up to the ceiling of the tower, letting out a long exaggerated sigh. “It’s so boring here, truly boring.”

Sunoo scoffed, thinking of how you truly deserve such condemnation for committing sinful acts that he lets out not one but a whole sentence. “That’s what you deserve for being sinful.”

The corner of your red lips pulled up, “Don’t you wonder what kind of sin I had committed, though?”

“I am not curious even a single bit. Keep it to yourself.”

“Aw, are you trying to be like that feisty angel with you that day?” You cooed which had his eyebrows knitting in disbelief. “I could applaud you, but if you ask me, you’d appear alot more adorable with your lips on mine.” brushing your finger against your lips you did, and Sunoo look away not showing any reaction as he unfortunately realise you were playing tricks on him.

Another week had passed, and Sunoo couldn’t wait for another seven days as you constantly barged him his peace of mind with questions that had him biting his lip to the point it left a mark. Seven more days, seven more days, pressing his eyes tight as he constantly repeated it in his mind along with prayers for God to give him strength and patience. Yet the obnoxious devil you were, cause him to hissed.

“Can’t you shut your mouth for once?!” veins popped on the side of his neck as he gritted his teeth.

“Are you angry?” You asked with a mischievous smirk on your lips. Sunoo ruffled through his hair, knowing very well that you were testing him and playing all sorts of tricks on him and yet despite being aware of it, he couldn’t help but finally react even after days of remaining calm.

Tightening his fist, he glared at you. “You’re truly filthy, aren’t you? No wonder the gods tremendously loathed you cause you can’t keep your filthy mouth shut, and that you don’t even deserve a place in heaven.”

Ouch, that somehow raises a slight irritation in you, you gotta admit—that your playful smirk dissipates and your seductive eyes was replaced with an expression Sunoo couldn’t fathom.

Biting your thumb under your lower lip, you scoffed at him. “A place in heaven? No thanks, I couldn’t last even a second in that so-called heaven of yours. That gods you so adore till the last breath of your life, are you that oblivious to think that they’re always free from filth and sin?”

Sunoo raises his eyebrow, “What? If you’re trying to stain the god’s name with your filthy tongue, then that won’t work on me. They’re far more virtuous than you are, they’re—”

“Oh please, keep indulging yourself in such illusion, I’ll be your guest. But–” you playfully pouted, “It hurts a tad bit to see my favourite angel get fooled, after all, it’s such a waste to see such an angel like you serving such double-faced gods.”

Sunoo didn’t know how to react with your choice of words, how was he supposed to? His mind urge him to put you in your place after insulting the gods, another urging him to simply just stay silent till the day of the retribution, but deep behind his ribs—that heart of his grew rampant much to his utter surprise. He despised how great of an effect you had on him that he didn’t say anything and left, breaking the rule that all of them six had agreed on.

He couldn’t care any less, he just wanted to be free for a moment. It’s not like you could escape with the spell they casted on you, or the holy tower bounding you inside it.

His wings fluttered through the sky, his feet landing on top of the clouds as he puffed into a series of emotions—his mind was consumed by your words—your existence itself cause him utter annoyance, but the mixture of an emotion he knew was wrong was arising. Was he being fooled? When you uttered those words with those seductive eyes softening for a split of second had him felt as if you were truly being genuine to him, but then you must be only fooling him and he’s evidently falling for you.

Sunoo truly broke the agreement he had with his brothers, as for the remaining six days—he didn’t watch over you as to avoid any wreck on his peace of mind and emotions, and only return on the day of the retribution.

He had decided to arrive more early than his brothers to make it seem like that he was truly doing his task aka watching over you. When he arrive, he expected you be awake and try to seduce him with your bold words but you were once again in your deep slumber much to his surprise. Beyond relief he was that the holy tower was still functioning and that you truly were unable to do anything to escape.

But Sunoo felt a slight pang in his heart as his foxy eyes fell on you longer than he expected, his feet approaching you, crouching down as he took a closer look at your face—he truly thinks you look alot more innocent while with your eyes closed, your eyelashes fluttering slightly which makes him wonder if you were dreaming and if so, what dream you were having?

He wondered what kind of life you had before you became a succubus, were you an angel just like them? And did you live a diligent life and abide by the rules before falling into darkness? And what have you possibly done that you became like the way you are right now?

He was curious, unbelievably curious as another question rose one after another the more his eyes fixated on your slumber. However a shiver run down his spine when dust particles of crimson he recognised floated in his peripheral vision, long finger wrapping around his neck before he could react and see who it was. He lets out a series of gasp, and a breathe hitched down his throat when your eyelashes fluttered against his in a dangerous proximity.

It can’t be? It can’t be! Sunoo screamed at his mind, strings of inaudible words left his lips as he breathe out in fear, his hand trembling on the marble floor as you were on top of him, your wrist and neck free from the metal chains and collars, your ruby orbs looking down at him with expressions he knew would be his last sight to look upon before you rip him apart.

What a joke, he can’t believe you will be the last thing he will ever saw before he’s gone. A part of him incredibly loathes it, he hated how his death would be cause by a demon, to crumble pathetically before a demon that his pride as an angel—as one of the high ranking angels with his brothers, all had gone to the drain. Sunoo felt as if he didn’t deserve to be an angel at that very moment, that he deserves nothing but to receive punishment for breaking a promise, a rule, an agreement with his brothers. That he doesn’t actually belong with the glowing light amongst his brothers, however as much as hollow he had been, he should be alerting his brothers of you right now, he should—but, but..

The way your lips brushes against his cheek as you brushed his silk hair had his rampant mind engulfed with peace. A sense of peace that felt wholly different to the peace he had cultivated in the thousand years of his life.

The way you caressed his face as if he was fragile cause wonders to his emotions, the way your orbs look deep into his soul as if he was so delicate to you had him wondering just what you are up to? Weren’t you going to kill him? To rip him to pieces to show the heavens how exceedingly powerful you are?

“Just.. k-kill me now. What are y-you still w-waiting for?” The tremendous weight of your aura had him stuttering in a ghost-quiet whisper, truly proving how very well he knew that he isn’t comparable to your strength. He wishes for his death to be swift and painless, despite knowing that you must’ve been irritated for how he treated you for a whole month.

Because why wouldn’t you? You belong to the underworld, with those nasty wicked demons and creatures just like you are, your own kind. The very fate you put yourself into. Sunoo could only wonder just how many souls you had uttered vile and unholy words from the tongue you were lapping on your red lips right now. Thinking of it cause his heart to quenched in pain, but, what was he even thinking?

“Why would I?” You brushed his soft pink lips with your thumb, “When I already told you that you’re my favourite angel? Killing you would be such a waste.”

“What?” His eyes widened, lips hanging apart in disbelief. Your red orb sparked in flames when you saw the chance, pushing in your thumb into his mouth and exploring his cheeks causing him to gagged. Sunoo was beyond shock as he tasted your thumb on his tongue, he was supposed to use his powers on you right now considering how you were fixated with your thumb in his lips, however he remain still—a part of him begging for him to let this moment to last a bit more, to let you use him as your toy.

“Do you like it?”

“H-huh?” Sunoo fell deeper into this loophole of sinful desires the longer you were on top of him, the taste of your thumb in his mouth, the sensation of your other hand wrapping around his neck suffocating him from oxygen. You pulled out your thumb from his lips, leaning in closer as you lapped your tongue on the saliva that were dripping on the corners of his lips before pulling him into a long, deep kiss.

Sunoo’s eyes widened in utter surprise, as he tasted your lips dancing against his—perfectly moulding and emitting a loud pop everytime you pulled away for a oxygen—leaving a long string of saliva as you did so. That leaves him to desire for your lips more, he had never felt this sensation ever in his thousand years of life. Your scent, your lips, your existence itself drove Sunoo to a state of drunkenness—his mind consumed nothing but you. “P-please kiss me again.”

Your lips pulled in the widest big smirk, cooing over how adorable he was for begging you—the delicate innocent angel that tried his best to fought his desires for you are now in tangled in the crimson strings you laid out for him. “Of course, why not, my angel?”

Sunoo felt as if he belonged to you when you uttered those words, a sense of belonging he only felt amongst his brothers. Your hands made its way to the buttons of his shirt, sneakily unbuttoning each one of them and yet he happily let you as he indulged in your own world that you bestow upon him.

The sound of heavy fluttering wings had his eyes widened in horror, as he saw his brother Sunghoon standing in the distance, “Sunoo! What do you think you’re doing?!” with his mouth gaping at what he had seen in front of him. Dread consumed Sunoo's insides, what would his brother think of him letting a succubus used him like a pleasure toy? What would he think now of him? Would he be banish from heaven too?

Dozens of questions arise in Sunoo's head but somehow something was quite different as he sensed the odd demeanour Sunghoon has in him, his brother's form frozen and his fists tightening as if he refused to use his power against... You.

With you still on top of him, Sunoo lazily fixes his posture and wrapped his right arm around your hips—pulling you closer as his attention remain on his brother, eyebrows knitting together in curiosity and confusion, and annoyance.

“What? Are you jealous?”

「 © talesofyuan on tumblr 2023 」 all rights reserved. do not copy or post without permission.

TAGLIST: @xxvyjoy @0102luvr @nyeonglover @hoonlv @bwljules @weyukinluv

[fleetways]

OKAY! It’s time for the Chimera Baby Lore Post!!

🌼 How did you come up with the OC's name?

In both a meta and non-meta sense, Chimera Baby’s name is probably the most notable part about them. The name Chimera Baby is a reference to m-flo and LiSA’s Tripod Baby, ft in the game Shadow the Hedgehog. For over 6 months that was her official non-official name, as I couldn’t decide on a name for her. I received over 15 name suggestions, but in July I ran a poll at which point she was dubbed Mira!

As it turns out, Mira happens to be the name of a binary star system. Two stars in a dance doomed to end in supernova—rather fitting for a chimera character, wouldn’t you say? I like to imagine Shadow was the one to name Mira something meaningful and space-themed like that, meanwhile Sonic named the other child something totally arbitrary (“His name is Mochi because he's white lol”)

On that note, I’ve also decided Sonic calls Mira “Chili” exclusively, because its silly and he would. So Mira, Chimera Baby, CB, and Chili are all names she goes by!

🌸 How old are they? (Or approximate age range)

I like to depict them anywhere from baby to teenager, but in their most recent incarnation I’d say they’re somewhere between 15-17

💖 Do they have any love interest(s)?

At the moment no. She’s generally too aloof and off putting for anyone to approach her with romantic intent, but maybe in the future….

🍓What is their favorite food?

Strawberries and Triangle Chao Fruit

⭐️ What do they do for a living?

💥 Do they have any hobbies?

Besides combat training, CB enjoys the occasional outdoor activity. Sometimes her friends goad her into a game of soccer (which she is an absolute beast at), but she generally prefers solo sports such as archery, rock climbing, or hiking. Sometimes her brother convinces her to fish with him, but she finds it pretty boring (but would never turn him down)

💃 What do they do best?

Mira excels at hand-to-hand combat. As the reigning champion of Chao Karate, Mira takes their martial arts training very seriously. They also possess exemplary control over chaos energy, and incorporates this into their technique. While they may not be as fast as their fathers, they make up for it with not just raw power, but an extremely disciplined technique.

Her skills also happen to make her an amazing breakdancer, but she’ll break your face if you ask her to demonstrate.

☀️ What is one of your OC's best memories?

A tie between making her baby brother laugh for the first time and the time she drew first blood for the first time in a fight with Shadow

🌧️ What is one of your OC's worst memories?

The aftermath of almost drowning as a child after she saved a chao friend.

✍️ Is their current design the first one?

For the most part—I did redesign their shoes because originally they were rocking some McDonalds drip.

💡What originally inspired the OC?

This post i made ^^

Basically its a mix of me poking fun at the phenomena of Sonadow fan-children all looking kinda similar, and this plush reminding me of actual chimerism in animals and wanting to create a character with that characteristic! Over the months my ironic love for her has grown into genuine fondness—so while she remains primarily as a parody, she’s also a character I’m having fun exploring concepts with <3 Much like both Shadow and Sonic the Hedgehog, you can take her as seriously or not seriously as you wish!

👾 What genre do they belong in?

PS1-era graphics Jet Set Radio game

🏳️‍🌈 What is your OC's gender identity and sexuality?

Non-binary and trans (you decide what direction). And she’s bisexual bc i love bisexuals <3

🍃How many sibling does your OC have?

One little brother Mochi—he is a perfect angel who is also her closest friend. She adores him, but you wouldn’t know from seeing them interact.

⚠️ What is the OC's relationship w/their parents like?

So I mentioned that Mira was reared in a chao garden, where her dads basically only visited once every couple days if not longer (Sonic and Shadow are not very attentive parents, go figure). However, this was honestly a perfectly fine arrangement as I headcanon mobian children don’t need the same level of parental contact as human children (Hell, Cream is kind of an outlier FOR having a present parental figure in her life).

That being said, I imagine Shadow spent more time with her when she was really young before stepping away, which made her really latch onto Shadow more than Sonic during that time. Especially seeing as Sonic is the most laissez-faire parent ever but simultaneously was the type to abandon her on a floating platform in midair with a trail of badniks so she can learn how to homing attack.

Much like her father before her, her latent Black Arms genes have caused her to develop a burning desire to destroy Shadow—a fact that Shadow seems strangely indifferent about. While this fact has pretty much wrecked their previous relationship, there are circumstances where Mira will put aside her goal and work with Shadow against a common enemy or towards a common objective (of course, this doesn’t stop her from trying to stab him in the back during these operations).

Her relationship with Sonic has remained mostly the same, with Sonic treating her much more like a friend or little sister than a daughter. They have lunch together at least once a month, and usually she’ll go to him for advice on any social interaction matter—conversations that have become much more frequent now that she’s begun to make friends.

💗 What do you like most about the OC?

I think I popped off with her design—chimerism is such an interesting concept and I loved balancing her two sets of genes without making it seem too busy. I also love her dynamic of trying to kill Shadow and how you would think her growing up in chao garden basically alone would have contributed to that, but that's not the case at all she’s just like that <3

‼️ Who is your OC's arch-nemesis or rival?

Shadow the Hedgehog is her self-proclaimed nemesis, but she makes a fair share of enemies and rivals wherever she goes due to her punch-first-ask-questions-later attitude. One notable rival is another OC of mine named Sauvik the Badger—another cold and brooding anti-hero much like her. Sauvik and Mochi are something of a team, but being a protective big sister she wants him to stay away from her brother. This generally leads to a fight that Mochi is inevitably forced to break up.

⏰ How long have you had the OC?

She was created in January of 2023!

—

That’s all! Feel free to ask any other questions and remember to vote for her here!

@sonic-oc-showdown

[hamsteriffic]

Miraculous Fandom Stats

Ao3 Wrap Up 2023

I don’t know if anyone has done this, I hope I don’t step on anyone’s toes. Here a wrap up for 2023 for Miraculous Ladybug!

This study only assesses the fanfics posted by the last update, so if there was an older fic that was from 2021 that was updated in 2023, this would be captured by this study.

📈 The data presented here is a snapshot of the Fandom on: 05 Jan 2024

🖤 Works posted to Ao3 in 2023

In 2023 there were 10,515 fanfics posted (including crossovers and all languages). The median word count per fanfic was 2,268 words. In general, each fic received 5 comments, 561 hits and 36 kudos (median).

A majority of fanfics were not crossovers (Fig 1). The peak of Ao3 posts for Miraculous Ladybug was in 2021 with a total of 11,350 fanfics. Fanfics with crossovers have had a steady rise in popularity from 2018 with a peak of 2,609 in 2021.

Fig 1. A total number of fanfics posted to Ao3 in 2023 for the Miraculous Ladybug fandom without crossovers (blue line) and with crossovers (dotted line).

Note that this analysis will excludes crossovers (a separate analysis to come!).

Fig 2. Total number of completed fanfics (red) and incomplete fanfics (pink) posted to Ao3 in the Miraculous Ladybug fandom for 2023 (excluding crossovers).

Fig 3. Total number of words per fic published or updated in 2023. The median word count per fanfic in 2023 was 2,268 words.

The most frequently used tags for 2023 were (in descending order):

Fluff (1495)

Angst (1040)

Identity Reveal (982)

Aged-Up Characters (968)

Alternate Universe (732)

Hurt/Comfort (700)

Adrien Needs a Hug (510)

🏆 Highlights in 2023 include

Miraculous Ladybug Season 5 Finale, s05e26, Re-Creation (Part 2) (First Airdate: July 01, 2023) [2]

Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie (Released: July 05, 2023) [3]

Miraculous Paris Special (Preview Screening: October 15, 2023) [4]

🖤 Most Tagged Side of the Lovesquare in 2023

Fig 4. Percentage of fanfics tagged with different sides of the Lovesquare.

Note that these are only taking into account fics that use this tag. There may be fanfics that have sides of the Lovesquare that are not indicated. This analysis also includes tags for Marichat May, Ladrien July etc.

Adrinette (34.5%; 737 fics)

LadyNoir (32%; 677 fics)

MariChat (23.5%; 501 fics)

Ladrien (10%; 213 fics)

🖤 Top 10 Characters Pairings on Ao3 (excluding Lovesquare)

Alya/Nino (927 fics)

Luka/Marinette (734 fics)

Juleka/Rose (405 fics)

Nathaniel / Marc (337 fics)

Felix / Marinette (317 fics)

Gabriel / Nathalie (286 fics)

Adrien / Luka (269 fics)

Felix / Kagami (183 fics)

Adrien / Kagami (159 fics)

Kagami / Marinette (158 fics)

There was a large shift in a number of pairings, in particular there was a dramatic increase in the number of fics tagged with Felix Fathom / Kagami Tsurugi (see below the cut for Season 5 spoilers). Other notable mentions are also Marinette Dupain-Cheng / Zoe Lee with a 2.5 fold increase in fanfics posted in 2023 (63 in total) compared to 2022 (26 in total).

🖤 Conclusions

It’s been a big year, and one that is controversial in many ways. I was just curious to see if there’s a decrease in activity since the season 5 finale, but it looks like the fanfiction writing is going strong. But are fans tuning out? Or are we trying to create more fix-it fics? (I will delve into that in a different post, since this was quite labour intensive).

There have been some interesting changes in relationship tags as well as tags for Sentimonsters (below the cut).

Methodology, References and Season 5 Spoilers below the cut:

Warning: Season 5 spoilers below:

🖤 2023 was also the year Feligami became official

This has lead to a dramatic increase in fanfics for the power couple.

Fig 5. The total number of fanfics posted on Ao3 for Felix / Kagami, represented per month saw a dramatic increase since the release of Season 5 in 2023 (blue). In contrast, I have plotted the total number of fanfics per month 2022 (red).

💔 2023 was also when the sentimonster theory was confirmed

Fig 6. Fanfiction that have used tags for Sentimonsters since 2018. Note that this is not a cumulative plot and that the numbers are individual works from each year tagged for Sentimonster.

In 2023, there were 192 works that tagged for Sentimonster Adrien, and 95 for Sentimonster Felix and 34 for Sentimonster Kagami. Recent usage for the tag 'Adrien is not a Sentimonster' was also observed (21 cases).

Please don’t be mad at me. I’m just a stats hamster.

Methodology

Filtering

The analyses start from Sep 05, 2012 when the first promotional video (PV) for Miraculous Ladybug was publicly leaked [1].

Since the website is very active, the information may change as this data is best considered to be a snapshot of the fanfics posted at this point in time. Also note that the filter is also for last update, and not first posted, so that older fics may be captured in later datasets. But for the purposes of this study, I am assuming that if the author is updating, then they are still active in the fandom.

To get an idea on what was posted to Ao3 this year, I have filtered for last published date 01 Jan 2023 - 31 Dec 2023. Note that while there was only an option for selecting by Last Post Date, which meant that works originally posted earlier (pre-2023) would still be captured if it was updated within the bounds of these dates.

Furthermore, it is also possible to backdate works on Ao3 which may also give false results. However, it may be likely that if this did happen it would only be a small percentage of fanworks. As such the data is an approximation of fandom activity during 2023.

Relationship Tags

I have followed the Ao3 rules so that / are taken to mean romantic relations and & for platonic relationships. In this analysis, I have combined the numbers for Felix (PV), Felix Graham de Vanily and Felix Fathom.

References

[1] Miraculous PV (https://miraculousladybug.fandom.com/wiki/Ladybug_PV)

[2] Miraculous Ladybug Re-Creation (s05e25) World Premiere (Switzerland) (https://miraculousladybug.fandom.com/wiki/Re-creation_(The_Final_Day_-_Part_2)#google_vignette)

[3] Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie (https://m.imdb.com/title/tt10364034/releaseinfo/)

[4] Miraculous Paris Special (https://miraculousladybug.fandom.com/wiki/Miraculous_Paris)

[violetswritingg]

Thunderstruck

Tyler Owens x OFC!

Description: When cowgirl meets cowboy after a year of no-contact and chaos ensues during storm season!

Rating: M (Mentions of blood and death in Tornadoes and storms alike, angst and loss of loved ones, car accidents, Tornado aftermath, and injury to characters, slight age gap (5 years))

Hey! I don't normally post my writing on here, I'm normally only on Wattpad but I decided to cross post and so here is the first of many fics to be moved over here and enjoyed as well! I hope you guys enjoy the story, I honestly have no idea who many chapters this is going to be lol.

Want to read the other chapters?

Click here

1

April, 2005

Oklahoma

The sound of silverware on plates was all that could be heard, but that was normal for a Thornton-Harding-St. James family dinner. Nathan and Juliette had been tense all dinner barely saying a word to each other. All since Jo and Bill had arrived all smiles. The women's mother Michelle, and both Jo and Bill watching the parents as if they were an active bomb ready to go off at any moment. Nathan was at least trying. Smiling, as best he could, and making polite conversation when prompted, the father mainly focused on Riley who sat on his other side. Making sure she wasn't playing with her food.

At six she should know better, and he needed to teach her it was rude to waste the food someone had worked really hard to make for them. But now that the food had been eaten, there wasn't much distraction left to hide behind.

"Uh, so, Julie, how's Riley been doing in school?" Jo tried; she really did. But Juliette was mean on a good day and that day was not today. The empty wine glass next to her being her fourth, and once she got to drinking her temper just got worse.

"She's doing fine." Juliette sniffed as she sat up straighter, a forced smile on her face. Eyes narrowed as she settled into a defensive position. "Why?"

"No reason, just making conversation." Jo sighed, looking at Bill for a second before meeting Nathan's grimaced grin. Trying not to cause a scene in front of everybody was taking all his will power, wanting nothing more than to snap at Juliette and shake her. Hoping that would maybe change her entire personality, the one he hadn't seen until she was telling him she was pregnant and that it was his all those years ago.

"Right." Juliette scoffed, "You have no right to judge me, you don't even have a kid!" her jaw snapped shut, eyes blistering as she spat her words at her older sister. Jo tensed up and Riley had started to pay attention to the adults at the table instead of finishing her little slice of pie. Nathan wanted to crawl into a hole and die, take Riley with him far far away from Juliette. Riley loved Jo and Bill though and he couldn't just do that. Michelle was over the moon when she found out she was going to have a grandbaby, she's 75 now and doesn't have a lot of time left to spend with anyone, much less Riley, not with how her health had been declining recently. The stress of living in Tornado alley having taken its toll after her husband was taken in that fateful storm.

Riley was her whole world. Michelle watched her when Nathan, Bill, and Jo were out storm chasing. Juliette, even though she lived in the same house, the Harding family farm. Being rebuilt on the same land, Michelle couldn't bare to leave it behind after the original house was destroyed. Riley didn't mind it, even though she missed her dad, she loved getting to hang out with Grandma. They were like best friends. But Nathan had needed to start taking Riley with him and his team because of her health issues, and because he knew that Juliette would leave Riley to her own devices for however long he was gone, the almost 6 year old hanging out in the tech van usually a couple miles behind him and always a safe distance from the storm in pursuit.

"I am very much aware of that Juliette." Jo grit out, Bill reaching out an arm around her shoulders, the couple had hit their early 40's, still childless, still chasing. But had been entertaining the idea of settling down after one too many close calls. The topic of having kids was a sensitive one, they had been trying quietly for about a year now and no luck. Something Jo had shared with her sister and Nathan in confidence.

"The food was great Michelle-" Bill tried to move onto another topic, but got blocked.

"I'm not surprised though, I'm sure there's cobwebs up there at this point." Juliette cruelly laughed. "I'm sure Bill will move on to a younger model when he finally realizes you'll never be able to produce."

"Juliette May Thornton! You watch your-"

"What mom?" Juliette turned on Michelle next, the elderly woman sitting taller in her chair, white hair pulled back in a simple style, warm eyes worn and normally full of life. Now though, they only held disappointment in her youngest daughter. "There it is. There's the look. I'm not going to take this; I am not going to be attacked in my own goddamn house." Julliette huffed and pushed out her chair with a sharp scrape against the wood flooring and stomped upstairs.

Nathan let out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, as Riley's little voice called out for her mom. Only to be ignored.

"Why don't you go turn on some cartoons okay baby? You got 30 minutes until bedtime, you get one show and then in the bath for you okay?" Nathan picked up his daughter and hauled her into his lap, booping her nose, causing light giggles to erupt.

Riley's dark blonde curls bouncing as she nodded quickly, Nathan setting her on her feet and the adults chuckled as she all but ran. Already hearing the Scooby-doo theme song playing over the air. The tension leaving his shoulders now that the cause of all his stress was no longer in the room.

"I'm sorry." He breathed, "She's been in a bad mood all day, picking fights just because."

"Hey, I grew up with her. If I'm not used to it at this point, then I need a thicker skin." Jo chuckled, despite the hurt still lingering in her eyes.

"Still, what crawled up her ass and died?" Bill scoffed, pulling Jo to his side and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. Nathan watching, his sight going green for a second. That's what he wanted, it's what he didn't know he wanted until he saw it with them, until he had to spend his days attached to Juliette. Riley was the bright spot, the good thing to come out of a shitty situation. Nathan would deal with Juliette every day for the rest of his life as long as he got to see Riley.

"I have been asking myself that question for years Billy." Nathan sighed out, laughing to himself, resigned to dealing with it later.

~~*~~

"What you said at dinner was uncalled for." Nathan puffed out, pulling off pillows from their shared bed. He may as well be sleeping alone though.

"Are you gonna attack me now too Nathanial?" Juliette scoffed, rolling her eyes at him from the bathroom vanity mirror as she got ready for bed. The slight slur to her voice telling him the wine was starting to hit her full force now.

"I'm not attacking you, simply stating you went too far. And that maybe you owe Jo an apology?" He tried, but got nothing but a single, indignant laugh in response.

"You think she's better than me huh? Is that it?!" Nathan hung his head, abandoning the task of making up the bed. He pushed back the tears of frustration and looked back at the woman he was sure he had been in love with, or at the very least liked at one point.

"When have I ever said that?" He started, voice heavy with exhaustion.

"You don't have to say it, you've always liked her better than me. Just like everyone else! I thought you were different!"

"You are 36 years old Juliette! When are you going to let this go?" He never raised his voice when they argued, never wanting Riley to hear, but Juliette seemed to want to wake the whole house which included Jo and Bill who were spending the night before heading out in the morning. Thunder rolled in the distance.

"You aren't denying it! God! I am so stupid! I never should have stayed. Never should have-" She kept muttering under her breath every seeming regret she had as she stormed into the room, yanked open the closet, grabbing a duffle bag from inside and throwing her clothes in it haphazardly. "This place is suffocating! You are suffocating with your judgy eyes and every comment about how I raise Riley-"

"You don't! That's the issue! What are you doing?" Nathan sighed as she plopped the duffle bag on the still made up side of the bed, her side.

"What does it look like. I can't stay here. Not with you or them. All of you just hate on me all the time, look at me like I'm nothing but a disappointment. I'm sorry I'm not perfect! I'm sorry I'm not golden girl Jo!" Juliette finished, throwing an arm towards the door, chest heaving as she zipped up her duffle bag and yanked open the bedroom door. Slamming it shut behind her.

Nathan listened to her as she went down the stairs, taking a breath before he was going after her, repeating over and over she is the mother of your child in his head. When they first met, it was in the middle of storm season and Jo's kid sister decided she wanted to come with her chasing that year, she was just as wild back then. Less mean, less insecure. She was all bright eyes and wide smiles, soft skin and warm affection. Until she got pregnant. That's when everything changed.

"Jules! Jules!" Nathan whisper-shouted, as he tripped down the stairs.

"What's happening?" Bill questioned, opening the door to the guest room on the first floor, in a white t-shirt and his boxers, yawning and scratching his face. Jo's voice behind him asking the same thing, sleep slurring her words though.

"I don't know William, ask your wife." Juliette spit as she past him and Nathan was still trying to get to her.

"Just go back to bed, sorry for waking you-"

"Oh shut up Nathan!"

"Was I talking to you?!" He finally snapped and Bill's mouth dropped, Juliette looked like she had been slapped.

"Well, I never..." Juliette huffed, holding a hand to her chest. Crocodile tears in her eyes, Nathan had seen them enough to know she was just trying to make him feel guilty. It was at that moment that Jo decided to get out of bed and come to the door to see what was going on.

"Bill, Jo, please, go back to bed. We're fine-"

"No! We're not fine. You know this is all your fault? Right?! If I had never gotten pregnant, my life wouldn't be like it is now. Miserable. If I had never met you or had Riley I would be happy. I wish I had never met you! I wish I had gotten rid of the baby, keeping her was a mistake-"

"Hey!-" Nathan could only see red.

"Mommy?"

Everything stopped and it felt like a lead weight had been dropped into Nathan's stomach. He turned around and looked up at the bottom of the stairs, the dirty-blonde head of his daughter, her big blue eyes, his eyes, staring up at her mother with confusion.

It was clear Juliette didn't know what to say, and Nathan was ready to swing if she said anything negative to his kid. There was a tense silence, Riley pulled her blanket and stuffed rabbit closer to her, looking unsure.

"Do you want a hug? You look sad." Riley pattered slowly up to the woman, stopping at her feet and looking up at the much taller adult who had given birth to her. Tugging on her sweatpants gently, looking for a connection. It broke Nathan's heart, knowing Riley would never get that. At least not with Juliette.

"I'm not your mommy anymore." With that Juliette turned on her heel and left. Slamming the front door behind her.

"Daddy?" Riley, with tears in her eyes looked to the man who was instantly there. Picking her up and holding her to him, her tears dampening the shoulder of his t-shirt. "Where did mommy go?"

"I don't know baby. I don't know." With one last look over his shoulder to Bill and Jo, the couple grinning sadly at the father-daughter pair. Nathan doing his best to not shake in anger. Juliette was gone for now, he had to focus on Riley. Make sure she was okay. And so, he took his daughter back up to her room and three bedtime stories, a lullaby, and a forehead kiss later she was back down and snoring softly. Hair sprawled crazily behind her, her favorite dino pj's on, blanket and rabbit next to her.

Nathan's love-filled gaze was like honey, his fingers petting her hair back from her face. When Juliette told him she was pregnant he had been terrified, convinced she was lying. He didn't take it well. He was still in his PhD program, had just been offered a huge grant to keep working on his already existing research, he couldn't see himself able to have a kid without throwing everything he had been working towards his whole life away.

Which wasn't true, he had to defer the grant for a year, finished out that year at school and then dropped out of the PhD program, it killed him, but he couldn't go to school back home in Arkansas if Juliette refused to leave Oklahoma. He may not have wanted the kid in the first place but he was raised right and was going to step up however he had to.

He wanted to be there for Juliette as she carried the baby, support her. She was miserable, she lost close to twenty pounds due to morning sickness and had to be on bed rest for months. It wasn't fun and she was horrible every minute of it. Michelle and him had to walk on eggshells every second of every day, and even then they still would set her off someway somehow. They let it slide during the pregnancy because it was understandable, she was constantly uncomfortable, couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't walk. But after Riley was born the behavior stayed, and only got worse as Riley struggled to breast feed and Juliette struggled to bond with her baby.

The connection with Nathan and Riley had been immediate though and that pissed Juliette off, it was just one more person who hadn't chosen her first. That, in her mind, didn't want her. Nathan suggested therapy but was met with a scoff and another argument about her being scared he was trying to take Riley away from her by claiming she was crazy, which was so not the case.

He could still remember when he first held Riley in the hospital, how perfect she was in every way, and still is. He hadn't ever felt the kind of love he did when he first laid eyes on his daughter, her little fingers wrapped around his pointer finger and his entire heart. She was an easy kid, at least with him. Juliette never seemed to figure out how to calm Riley down when she was fussy or upset, and would get frustrated with her quickly, yelling, berating. Nathan had walked in one time when Riley had gotten a fever and needed one of them up with her at all times, he could have sworn Juliette was about to shake the, then months old Riley, who had been wailing for what felt like hours that night.

He stopped trusting her to be alone with Riley at that moment in time. In the back of his mind he always knew Juliette wasn't going to stick around, she never did when things got hard. Fact of the matter was this had happened before, multiple times, Nathan just hoped that one day Riley wouldn't remember any of this. Or the hurtful words her mom said to her that night.

~~*~~

[midnight-mourning]

Good morning, mourning! is it possible for you to show us how you make an outline for writing a chapter sometime in the future? like what does your first rough rough draft look like?🤔

also whats your favorite vine/meme at the moment?🫣

Hi pip!!

I can actually show you RIGHT NOW as I keep all my outlines (for the most part) saved in their respective chapters

*added a read more post-answering bc this got LONG lol*

So, it's sometimes a bit dependent on the fic, what I'm writing at the time, and where I'm at in the process. I usually have two different methods I stick to and typically combine in some manner:

bulleted list of important scenes/ideas to expand out upon from there (typically how I start out ideas for oneshots)

big blurb paragraph of a flow of ideas from start to finish (typically how I start out chapter-based fics, and what I do for Confused Spirit)

From there, I'll then combine the two methods in some way if it's a oneshot, and if I'm struggling to get the words flowing for a chapter-based fic, I'll use the list to expand out upon things I wrote originally. For example, this was ch. 34's outline (spoilers for those who haven't read it yet):

and then the list I added once I got started properly, which I crosssed out as I went along. Fun fact, you can see where I hit a moment of greatness in that last bullet and the chapter came together as a whole from there:

the blacked out is things I've pushed back for later (or just general spoiler stuff), so you can see that inital plans and even those I make WHILE writing the chapter are still subject to change as I go into actually writing it. Another good example would be from ch. 32:

in this case, I went back and added to the original outline (I think you can tell where lmao) and didn't utilize a list

I'd love to find chekov's gun, bc that one was REALLY good if I'm remembering correctly but I think it's buried somewhere in the Dialogue Dump unfortunately 😔

Adding on to that, I write a lot of scene ideas/mainly dialogue for things that happen in the future as the ideas don't typically come to me in chronological order. the party from 33? like a month into writing the story. the team meeting Michael? mid-arc 2. Chekov's gun? the start to midway point in the first couple days of writing and then basically finished within by the middle of august (started in July for those that don't know)

My point being that there's a lot of things that I have saved for certain arcs/plot points that I then insert into their proper place in the story once I find where that is. For arc 3 in particular I took the approach of gathering all the dialogue i KNOW was going to be in the arc, wrote my lil blurbs for all the chapters, and then started placing them accordingly. stuff has (and probably will continue to) gotten shuffled around, but for the most part has stayed in their original places.

a rough rough draft beyond that is basically adding to those base scene ideas (sometimes in order, sometimes not) typically writing dialogue and then filling in the blanks from there! sometimes if I'm lucky I can write a chapter from (mostly) start to finish in a span of four hours or so but that's only when i'm REALLY cookin'

Sorry for the super long winded response, didn't realize how much I wrote until I did it 😅

TL;DR, blurb of ideas, organize those ideas/add to them or adjust, full send it from there (with the potential help of some dialogue along the way)

As for my fav vine/meme currently? Probably the lump fish guy, everytime someone says 'very mindful, very demure' (I am not on tiktok so I do NOT understand this one) I instantly think 'very beautiful, very powerful'

thanks so much for the lovely ask!!! <3 <3 <3

[scotianostra]

October 18th 1541 saw the death of Margaret Tudor, English princess, former Queen consort of Scotland and sister of Henry VIII.

Maybe Margaret was destined to be Queen of Scotland, she was baptised on November 30th 1489, St Andrews day.

From an early age, Margaret was part of Henry VII’s negotiations for important marriages for his children and her betrothal to James IV of Scotland was made official by a treaty in 1502 even though discussions had been underway since 1496. Part of the delay was the wait for a papal dispensation because James’ great-grandmother was Joan Beaufort, sister of John Beaufort, who was the great-grandfather of Margaret Tudor. That made James IV and Margaret Tudor fourth cousins, which was within the prohibited degree. Patrick Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell, acted as a proxy for James IV of Scotland for his betrothal to Margaret Tudor at Richmond in January 1502 before the couple was married in person in August 1503.

The Tudor writer Richard Grafton escorted Margaret to Scotland and it’s seems he wasn’t too taken with us, he later wrote….“Then this lady was taken to the town of Edinburgh, and there the day after King James IV in the presence of all his nobility married the said princess, and feasted the English lords, and showed them jousts and other pastimes, very honourably, after the fashion of this rude country. When all things were done and finished according to their commission the earl of Surrey with all the English lords and ladies returned to their country, giving more praise to the manhood than to the good manner and nature of Scotland.”

It’s amazing we survived as a race, let alone as Scots, given the mortality rate, even in cases where the mothers well better off, as in Margaret’s case, she had a horrible time trying to provide James IV with an heir. Her first pregnancy was in 1506 and she gave birth to a son, James, in February 1507 who lived about a year. Margaret next gave birth to a daughter in July 1508 who only survived for a few hours. In 1509, Margaret’s father died and her brother was now Henry VIII, the new king of England. Early in that year Margaret became pregnant once again and gave birth to another son, this one named Arthur, in October. However, this child also died at a young age, only nine months old.

Margaret’s next child was born on April 11, 1512 at Linlithgow and named James. This child, unlike all those before him, lived to adulthood and at little over a year old he was to succeed his father as James V. The Queen became pregnant yet again shortly afterwards and gave birth to another daughter, who died a few hours later.

It was during Margaret’s final pregnancy that James IV and the Flower of Scotland s, died on the battlefield at Flodden.

Margaret had thoughts of becoming regent for James V, but it was unheard of for women to rule, so needed a husband, unfortunately for her she chose a man seen by his counterparts as a fool. Her second husband was the powerful Scottish lord Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. And so it was that John Stuart, Duke of Albany (a cousin to the king, and next in line to the throne after little Alexander’s death), was invited by the Scottish lords to be Regent. Albany had been living in France with his mother’s relatives and served three French kings - Charles VIII, Louis XII and Francis I. Albany arrived in Scotland in May 1515.

By this time Margaret was pregnant, yes again!. As an English woman among Scots she felt ill at ease and fled to England, James V had by this time been seized from her by the Lords. She gave birth to a daughter, Margaret Douglas in October. Margaret fell very ill after her daughter’s birth and nearly died, her Douglas abandoned his wife about this time and returned to Scotland. Margaret stayed in England for about a year before returning to Scotland under promise of safe conduct in June 1517.

The marriage of Margaret and Angus turned out to be disastrous. While he was in Scotland and she was in England, Angus had taken a mistress and was living off of Margaret’s Scottish revenues. The next few years were terrible for Margaret, with a horrible marriage, no money, no power and very little contact with her son James.

In 1524 Margaret, in alliance with the Earl of Arran, overthrew Albany’s regency and her son was invested with his full royal authority. James V was still only 12, so Margaret was finally able to guide her son’s government, but only for a short time as her husband, Angus took control of the young King. Margaret was finally able to attain an annulment of her marriage to Angus from Pope Clement VII and by the next April she had married her third husband, Henry Stewart, who had previously been her treasurer.

Things got serious for a time when her second hubbie, arranged for the third hubbie to be arrested as no permission had been granted by the Lords for this marriage, it was all resolved by 1528, whe James V was able to rule for himself, being 16. He appointed Henry Stewart as Lord Methven and proclaimed the Douglas’s as traitors, Angus fled to England.

Margaret’s relationship with her son was relatively good, although she pushed for closer relations with England, where James preferred an alliance with France. In this, James won out and was married to Princess Madeleine, daughter of the King of France, in January 1537. Madeleine was a poorly woman and died in July she is buried at Holyrood Abbey.

After his first wife’s death, James sought another bride from France, this time taking Marie de Guise.

By this same time, Margaret’s own marriage had followed a path similar to her second one when Methven took a mistress and lived off his wife’s money.

On this day in 1541, Margaret Tudor died in Methven Castle in Scotland, probably from a stroke. She was buried at the Carthusian Abbey of St. John’s in Perth, King James VI Hospital now occupies the it’s former location.

[hallmarknostalgia]

The POstables family is about to get even bigger! The 14th movie in the franchise, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: A Tale of Three Letters, premiered on July 12 and ended with some exciting baby news.

Shane (Kristin Booth) is pregnant! In the final moments of A Tale of Three Letters , Shane tells Oliver (Eric Mabius) that they are expecting a baby. Mabius spoke with TV Insider and admitted that he was “surprised” by Shane’s pregnancy. “I can usually anticipate what Martha [Williamson]’s going to do, but I didn’t see that coming in this movie.” However, it made total “sense” when he looked back at Oliver and Shane’s journey in the latest movie.

The POstables will actually be welcoming two babies in the very near future. Norman (Geoff Gustafson) and Rita ( Crystal Lowe) are adopting a baby girl.

“It’s exciting because they’ve had training wheels in the form of their best friends, Norman and Rita, who have been sort of moving through uncharted waters,” the actor continued. “This movie is largely about trying to figure out what makes them ready to pursue a life together, and the next logical step is really the finale of this movie, which opens us up to a whole new world of possibilities, having them both going through this at the same time as well.”

He noted that Oliver and Shane will have their hands full as new parents. “It takes a village to raise a baby, but Oliver and Shane have surrounded themselves with such amazing people,” Mabius said.

In A Tale of Three Letters, Oliver and Shane had to overcome obstacles early on in their marriage. They began going to therapy to sort out their issues, which ultimately strengthened their relationship.

“We’ve seen a lot of couples in therapy scenes before, but I felt like these really resonated in that they were truthful, that they were not comfortable,” the Ugly Betty alum explained. “They were painful at times, and they were bereft. They were full of despair. But this is the process of therapy, working through these things and relinquishing some kind of control.”

Oliver and Shane had quite the slow burn romance across several Signed, Sealed, Delivered movies. Now that they’re together, Mabius told TV Insider that their relationship was “really earned. Some were annoyed that it was dragging out for so long before they became romantically involved, but I think it’s such powerful foundation.”

Mabius was tight-lipped about the next POstables adventure, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: To the Moon and Back, the 15th POstables movie. However, he did say that he doesn’t anticipate the franchise “slowing down” whatsoever. With a new generation of POstables on the way, we don’t foresee the Signed, Sealed, Delivered universe going dark anytime soon.

[evie-mgks-version]

My TVDU OC

Her FC is:

Clarie Danes

Name: Juliet Rose Starleen

Nickname(s): Julie (everyone) Jules (Klaus and Elijah) Princess(Damon) Little Devil (Damon, only when he is teasing her) Love (Klaus) JuJu (A name that isn't used often, so when this is said this. Everyone knows there's something that made her way beyond ticked) Witch Rose/Rose Witch (Klaus. He couldn't remember her name for the first couple of weeks, all he remembered was 'Rose' and that she was a witch) Lil One (Elijah calls her this because of her height) Flicka (Klaus. According to sources in Swedish it mean’s ‘beautiful girl’ or something like that) Little Angel (Klaus) Hybrid Queen (Klaus and herself call me this)

Age: Vampire: 177  Human: 24

Birthday: June 14th 1840

Height: 5' 0”

Friends: Bonnie

Caroline

Stefan (He's more like a brother to her)

Jeremy

Enemies: The Lockwoods Katherine Viki Matt Elena (it's...a long story) People who hurt the ones I love

Crush:

Klaus

Hobbies: Photography Painting (Klaus actually got her into this, all though she's not as good as him)

Likes: Stargazing Painting Being around Klaus

Dislikes: Thunderstorms

Bad habits: Picking or biting my fingernails when she's nervous

Personality: Caring Loving Creative Shy at first

Human or Vampire, witch, or hybrid: Vampire-Witch hybrid 

If Vamp, who turned you?: Klaus on October 5th 1865 Powers: She's not really sure, since she doesn't use her magic very often, but if she had to guess, it's most of the powers all the other witches have. Quotes: "Romeo, Romeo. Wherefor are thou Romeo?" (She usually say this to find Klaus) "I love you. Like the stars above, I'll love you till I die." (She says this to Klaus a lot) "I want us to be like Romeo and Juliet, but way more dirty and naughty" (She says this to Klaus) "Give me my Romeo; and when he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven, so fine, that all the world will be in love with night" (This is from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Though she does say this often, especially when Klaus has to do something that is dangerous) "It is not the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves." (Another quote from Romeo and Juliet, but she says this whenever someone is down) "Everything looks cute when it's small!" (She says this to Klaus when he teases her about her height)  "Stars can't shine, without darkness." (She usually say this when someone's upset) "Friends come and go like the waves of the ocean, but those who are true, stay, like an octopus on your face. So thank you, for being an octopus." (Herself. She usually say this to her best friends)

Klaus gave her a necklace on their two year anniversary. It's a daylight necklace with the name Jules engraved on the back of it. It 'stores' her magic.

https://www.kay.com/labcreated-sapphire-necklace-diamonds-sterling-silver/p/V-133773705?cid=PLA-goo-E-Commerce+-+PLA+-+P1+-+Bestsellers+-+Non+Bridal&&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_cW3iMPVggMVzUpHAR3mTwttEAkYAiABEgLjrfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[outlanderfandomfollies]

Some parts of SamCait Shipperville seem to be stuck in a 1950s fantasy

Has there been a time warp on Tumblr?

Is it the 1950s again in some corners of SamCait Shipperville?

It has to be because the preferred SamCait "narrative" for many extreme shippers (ES) is that between the years 2016 to 2021, S and C have had anywhere from 3 to 5 "boos."😳

In this day and age, women with high powered careers don't usually opt to have more than one or two children. Especially, if they are starting a family in their late 30s.

But this seems to be a fantasy of certain ES, who believed that anytime C's belly wasn't completely flat, she HAD to be pregnant. These same ES have also been busily finding reflections of "boos" in glass bottles and pictures of "boos" in fuzzy photos.🤦🏻‍♀️

Having a large family might be THEIR fantasy, but I doubt it is C's or S's fantasies.

What is fascinating to me is that these women are so caught up in their 50s fantasy, that they appear to have never bothered to consider how improbable it would be for S and C to actually live the fantasy in real life.

YOU CAN'T HIDE FIVE "BOOS"--OR EVEN THREE: Sometimes one picture is worth a thousand words. So I put together this manipulated photo, to show what it would look like if C had to deal with 5 young children--and how absurd it is that anyone thinks that S & C would be able to keep such a large family "secret."

As you can see from the above manip--it would be nearly impossible to hide this many children from the world.🤷🏻‍♀️

But even if there were only 3 or 4 "boos," it would still be very hard to hide them from the world.

First of all, S & C would have to try to convince very young children to never tell anyone that they are their parents.

Good luck with that.

Then imagine stopping the boos' playmates from revealing the secret. And asking their playmates' parents and siblings to also keep the secret.

Then imagine hushing up all of S & C's relatives, colleagues, and neighbors.

Finally, think of how difficult it would be to get all of the boos' teachers, babysitters, nannies, au pairs, etc. to agree not to tell anyone.

WOMEN WITH DEMANDING CAREERS DON'T START A LARGE FAMILY IN THEIR MID-TO-LATE THIRTIES: Many of the ES think that Cait had her first "boo" in July 2016. At the time C would have been 36 years-old (about 3 months shy of her 37th birthday).

It's not unusual for high powered career women to try to have their first child in their mid-to-late thirties, but those who do are aware that they are also at greater risk of infertility, miscarriage, and of having children with severe developmental problems.

But in the the minds of certain ES, C chose* to have anywhere from 3 to 5 "boos" between July 2016 and the summer of 2021, when C was between the ages of 36 - 41.

Seriously. Who does that in this day and age?

But wait, there's more! 😱

Following the logic of this particular SC "narrative," not only did C & S choose to have all of these children relatively late in life, but they chose to have this large family despite both of them often having to work 13 hour days, and having to fly all over the world for award shows, premieres and film shootings. Not to mention the fact that their work and travels often saw S on a different continent than C and the "boos."

Given all of the above, what I want to know is:

I don't care if ES assume that C & S have nannies or au pairs or other childcare arrangements. Nowadays, few couples with such demanding careers would opt to have a such a large brood of kids relatively late in life.

BOTTOM LINE: Certain shippers have a 1950s fantasy of what life is like in the imaginary "marriage" between S & C.

It is an impractical and an extremely improbable fantasy.

Anyone with any common sense would know that.

Unfortunately, extreme shippers have put their common sense on hold--sometimes for years--just to keep this particular fantasy alive.

[edited]

____________ *Even though C was raised Catholic, she supports women's reproductive rights. She avoided being pregnant for years despite having a couple of serious relationships. She wouldn't just start using the rhythm method once married. If C actually had a big family, it would have been a choice she made. IMAGE SOURCES: a) 1950s family illustration; b) manipulated photo sources: 01 + 02; c) gossiping kids photo; d)Three people can keep a secret gif; e) Wait, what? gif; Who's minding the Kids? photo. Note: All images/gifs were modified from their original sources.

[fuckyeahfraxus]

FRAXUS WEEK is approaching, so it's time for you guys to send in your prompt suggestions again! Fraxus Week will be returning for yet another year and take place from July 14th till July 22nd as usual.

Prompt suggestions can be sent per chat, ask, submission or you can leave a comment with your suggestion(s) on this post. We'll be open for prompt suggestions until Friday night (June 9th, 23:59 pm CET). After the submission phase has been closed we will create a poll and you guys can leave votes for your favorite prompts for this year's Fraxus Week. The voting period will end on June 13th but of course we will make a separate post for it.

Thank you for your help and we hope that you too are excited!!

Prompts that have been used in previous years can be found under the cut, but if there's one that you love so much that you'd want it as prompt again then feel free to suggest it anyway!

Two bros chilling in a hot tub

Soulmates

Demon possessions/Dragon hoards or Demon in disguise x Angel undercover

Early mornings/Late nights or Sunrise/Sunset

Deadly/Savage

Fruity

AU rivals team up or Canon verse first Unison Raid

Master(s)

Lightning struck

First Meeting/Growing old together

He likes guys

Enemies to friends to lovers/Friends to lovers

Casual (e.g. clothes/conversation/etc.)

Drunk on kisses/alcohol/power/life/etc.

Losing control

Weird Habits

Proposal/Wedding/Engagement

Tarot/Legends and Mythology

BDE Couple (Big dick energy? Big dork energy? Big dumbass energy? You decide, these nerds can be anything)

Unstoppable/Freed the Dark and the Thunder God

Night in/Night out

Mischief

Spa/Vacation/Hot springs

Hope/Despair/Complicated/Easy

Sweet treats

Seasons

Next generation/Adoption/Two Dads are better than one/The guild kids’ cool embarrassing Uncles

Pride

First kiss or Mutual Pining

Power couple or Competing/Competitive

Makarov

Patching each other up/Taking care of each other

Modelling/Weekly Sorcerer/Interview

Mythical creatures/Zodiac/Gods/Four horsemen of the Apocalypse

Post war

Crossover

Sharing

Morning/Night routine

Reverse

Training/Sparring

Quirks/Habits

Gaming

Spoiling each other

Playful shenanigans

Motion sickness

Beach

Music

Comfort

Fantasia

Camping

AU

Unison Raid

Blue Pegasus

Cooking & Baking

Thunderstorms

Clumsiness

Interfering friends

Flirting/Flirting gone wrong

Night

Confession

Anniversary

Dance into summer and/or Dancing in the rain

About damn time and/or Platonic flirting turns not so platonic

Library and/or History and Myth

Go to hell

Matchmaker(s)

The beauty and the beast/The beauty and the demon/The beauty and the dragon/etc.

Pretend relationship and/or Rumors

Dirty fight/Sweet love and/or Cruel/Tender

Reimagine a canon scene/Possible alterations and/or additions

[newmusickarl]

5-9’s Album of the Month Podcast – latest episode out now!

The latest episode of the 5-9 Album of the Month Podcast is here and it’s a bit of a sad one as 5-9 Editor Andrew Belt was unable to join us! So this time around it’s just me and Mama Mañana Records' Kiley Larsen reviewing five high profile album releases from the past month in music, ultimately naming one as our Album of the Month at the end of the discussion.

For our June 2024 episode, it was John Grant’s synth-soaked majesty on The Art of the Lie that took home the coveted Album of the Month title. For our latest episode, we look back at five big releases from July and the albums vying for recognition this time around are:

King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 by Denzel Curry

Django’s High by Future Utopia (Poll winner, thanks for voting!)

As Above, So Below by Highly Suspect

Harmonics by Joe Goddard

HEAVY JELLY by SOFT PLAY

If you want to listen to this or any previous episodes simply follow the links below, but also be sure to follow 5-9 Blog on Instagram, Twitter and now YouTube for more news and polls relating to the podcast.

Listen on Spotify here

Watch, like and subscribe to our YouTube channel here

Album & EP Recommendations

Wild God by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Let’s face it, Nick Cave doesn’t make bad records. However, even by his incredibly high standards across his illustrious career, his recent work has been truly exceptional, towering bodies of work. Fuelled by unimaginable tragedy, grief and loss, albums Skeleton Tree and Ghosteen rank among my favourite albums of the last decade, listening experiences that are beautiful yet emotionally devastating. His last album with just him and Warren Ellis, Carnage, was no slouch either, finishing in my Top 10 of the year back in 2021. Now both have reunited with the full Bad Seeds ensemble, and new album Wild God continues their recent hot streak.

Emerging out of the vast darkness, their eighteenth studio album is a much brighter and more joyous experience compared to its predecessors. Filled with uplifting, string-drenched arrangements, some of which include none other than Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood on bass duties, the lyrics also find Cave in a much more optimistic mindset. It all makes for another endlessly captivating listen, with Joy the real standout in the first half, as Cave’s poetic lyrics are spun across a mostly minimal, piano-led composition. However, the finest moments for me are in the back half, with the gospel cries and stomps of Conversion, the operatic and ghostly Cinnamon Horses and standout single Long Dark Night a particularly incredible trio.

Once again, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have crafted one of the finest albums I’ve listened to all year. Impactful and stunningly orchestrated, it’s another stirring collection of songs that will keep you absorbed across countless repeated listens.

Listen here

I Lay Down My Life For You by JPEGMAFIA

Another album that has quickly become one of my favourites of the year, NY-rapper JPEGMAFIA has followed up his sensational collaborative album with Danny Brown, 2023’s Scaring The Hoes, with arguably his strongest solo outing to date.

It’s a rap record but with punk rock energy, with most of the tracks here under the three-minute mark and plenty of heavy guitars powering the sonics. JPEG uses the record’s frantic pace to jump wildly between each bold idea, with the production never anything less than stellar. Collaborating with the likes of Flume and Kenny Beats on the production front, he also pulls in other current rap superstars like Vince Staples and Denzel Curry to lend a few bars too. It all makes for a thrilling wall-to-wall listen but if I’m to pick out just a couple of highlights, it’s the metal-charged SAN MIEDO and string-tinged experimentation of Exmilitary.

Colliding fast and furious bars with heavy punk, noise rock and industrial influences, all in mesmerising fashion, this is without a doubt the rap record of the year for me so far.

Listen here

No Name by Jack White

Another man who rarely disappoints, guitar maestro and all-round modern legend Jack White returned recently with a surprise new album. Initially stealth releasing on vinyl towards the end of July, the record officially released to streaming platforms and critical fanfare at the beginning of August. While I may not agree with the consensus that this is his best solo outing to date, there’s no denying that this is another fun and mightily impressive release.

You see while some critics have found White’s solo discography to be quite patchy, I’ve actually been a big fan of his output over the last 12 years. Blunderbuss and Lazaretto both boasted songs that could be dubbed as instant rock classics, Boarding House Reach was wild but always fascinating in its experimentation, and the duo of Fear of The Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive showed that White’s songwriting shone through, whether plugged or unplugged.

With No Name, for me, what we ultimately get is more of what White has already done before and proved he can do previously. That said, the lo-fi production and fuzzy rock riffs still sound terrific, especially on tracks like Old Scratch Blues, Archbishop Harold Holmes, What’s The Rumpus and Terminal Archenemy Ending. So, while it lacks anything new or revolutionary and brings with it an air of safe familiarity, there is no denying that White can still rock out. If you’re a fan of his previous work, you’ll still find plenty here to enjoy.

Listen here

Lagos Paris London EP by Yannis & The Yaw

And finally on the EPs front, Yannis Philippakis of Foals finally released his long awaited first solo project, Lagos Paris London. A dazzling, collaborative five track EP featuring the late-great Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, the EP is as vibrant and sonically adventurous as the globe-trotting title would suggest. While Yannis brings his signature guitar grooves to the table, some soaring string arrangements, jazz-like horns and Allen’s Afrobeat-style drums ensure the project always has a different feel to anything under the Foals banner.

Whilst the whole EP is well worth 20 minutes of your time, it is Rain Can’t Reach Us and Clementine that particularly stand out for me.

Listen here

Also well worth checking out:

DAYS BEFORE RODEO by Travis Scott

Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay

True Magic by Salute

This World Fucking Sucks by Cassyette

A Firmer Hand by Hamish Hawk

Participation Trophy by China Bears

Heartbreak Town EP by GIRLBAND!

Song Recommendations

The Emptiness Machine by LINKIN PARK

It’s been quite the month for big comebacks, hasn’t it?!

First came the colossal news that the Gallagher brothers would finally be reforming Oasis for a huge 2025 tour, before Linkin Park also made their long-awaited return, announcing new album From Zero will be dropping this November. The Emptiness Machine is the first taste of that new record and their first single to feature new vocalist, Emily Armstrong.

Emily’s arrival into the band has certainly caused controversy, with her links to Scientology already a hot topic amongst fans. While that debate will continue for the foreseeable, what is clear from this single and the band’s return livestream performance is that Emily certainly has the vocal capabilities needed to front the iconic, much-loved band. While of course no-one could fully replace the late-great Chester Bennington, I am glad to have Linkin Park back making music once again.

Listen to The Emptiness Machine here

Watch the livestream performance back here

All You Children by Jamie XX featuring The Avalanches

A late contender for song of the summer, this huge collaboration between Jamie XX and The Avalanches was on heavy repeat for me towards the end of August. Propelled by an infectious tribal beat that will just make you want to get up and dance, it’s left me hugely hyped for Jamie’s new album In Waves dropping in a few weeks’ time.

Listen here

He by Hayden Thorpe

Another album I cannot wait for dropping at the end of September, Hayden Thorpe’s adaptation of Robert Macfarlane’s book Ness will also soon be here. With book and album both inspired by Orford Ness in Suffolk, He is the ultra-groovy second single from the project. Featuring an endlessly fascinating arrangement that even includes a sackbut (a 15th century early trombone) and a spinet (a small 17th century harpsichord), Hayden's unique songcraft shines through once again.

Listen here

A Landlord’s Death by One True Pairing

And Hayden is not the only Wild Beasts alumni to be releasing new music this year. A month later in October, Tom Fleming will also be releasing his second solo album, Endless Rain. Working with acclaimed producer John ‘Spud’ Murphy, the singles so far have suggested a much more traditional and folk-inspired sound compared to his solo debut. A Landlord’s Death continues this hypothesis, featuring some stomping acoustic riffs, wild strings and a catchy chorus.

Listen here

Sick Of The Blues by Porridge Radio

Another album due for release in October, indie rockers Porridge Radio will be returning with their new opus, Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me. Sick of the Blues is the closing track for the project but also the album’s first teaser single, finding frontwoman Dana Margolin in an apathetic mood as raw rock riffs build and erupt around her.

Listen here

Straight To Heart by ALT BLK ERA

From MOBO and Heavy Music Award nominations to storming festival sets at the likes of Glastonbury and Download, there is absolutely no stopping ALT BLK ERA’s momentum right now. Now with their highly-anticipated debut album Rave Immortal due for release in January, the alternative sister duo have released the second taste of the upcoming record. The synth-soaked track highlights the continuing maturity of their songwriting, with Straight To Heart seeing Nyrobi open up and reflect on her agonising battles with chronic illness.

Listen here

Nothing Compares To Nineteen by Fiona-Lee

Another one of the UK’s most promising emerging voices, singer-songwriter Fiona-Lee has recently returned with her second-ever single. A hugely emotive track, it was written in the wake of Fiona tragically losing a lifelong friend after he took his own life. Recalling her struggles with anxiety, grief and depression, along with conversations with her father on mental health, it’s another hard-hitting single that absolutely soars.

Listen here

Split Lip by Dolores Forever

One of my other favourite new music discoveries in 2024, I’ve had the pleasure of catching indie-pop duo Dolores Forever twice over this summer’s festival season. With their debut album finally dropping at the end of September, Split Lip is one of the latest singles taken from the project and a song that really stood out in their live performances. Hugely anthemic amidst captivating vocal harmonies and shimmering synths, this upcoming record is slowly shaping up to be one of the best debuts of the year.

Listen here

One Day by Hallworth

Released at the end of August, singer-songwriter Hallworth also recently released her heartfelt new single, One Day. Inspired by the Netflix movie of the same name and written while she was in Nashville, it’s a stirring track about her struggles with a long-distance relationship. With Hallworth’s own tender vocals at the fore, it’s a gorgeously laidback love song that will have you hitting the repeat button.

Listen here

Never Meant by Iron & Wine / For Sure by Ethel Cain

And finally, this year marks the 25th anniversary of one of my favourite albums of all time and a seminal work that still inspires countless musicians today – American Football’s self-titled debut. To mark the occasion, the band are releasing a remastered version of the original record, along with a brand new covers version.

The first two of these covers have been revealed and they are both unsurprisingly stunning. Firstly, American singer-songwriter Samuel Ervin Beam transforms the iconic Never Meant into a wonderful, folky lullaby, reminiscent of Bon Iver. Then, the much beloved Ethel Cain has turned the haunting For Sure into a near 10-minute moment of beauty and ethereal transcendence.

If all the covers are to this standard, with more cuts from the likes of Manchester Orchestra and Blondshell still to come, this project could be something very special.

Listen to Never Meant by Iron & Wine here

Listen to For Sure by Ethel Cain here

Also worth checking out:

Ego by Halsey

You by Ktlyle

JACKIN’ THE SYSTEM by NOISY

Tonight, Tonight (Smashing Pumpkins Cover) by Snail Mail

Hometown Edge by Kele

Bright Lights by The Killers

HERE WE GO! by Lil Nas X

Find The Way by Peggy Gou

SO WHAT by Confidence Man

SilverCane by Corinne Bailey Rae

REMINDER: If you use Apple Music, you can also keep up-to-date with all my favourite 2024 tracks through my Best of 2024 playlist. Constantly updated throughout the year with songs I enjoy, it is then finalised into a Top 100 Songs of the Year in December.Add the Best of 2024 playlist to your library here

[chernobog13]

Superman battles Captain Thunder in Superman (vol. 1) #276 (June, 1974).  Written by Elliot S! Maggin, art by Curt Swan and Bob Oskner.

DC licensed the original Fawcett comics’ Capitan Marvel, and related characters, in 1972.  The first issue of a new Captain Marvel comic book, Shazam!, appeared at the end of that year, although cover dated February, 1973,

Almost as soon as Shazam! #1 hit the stands the long-simmering debate over which hero - Superman or Captain Marvel was better/could win a fight - flared up again in the letter columns of both heroes’ books.

It took the editorial staff at DC a long time before they seemed ready to have the two heroes actually meet (which didn’t occur until Justice League of America (vol. 1) #137, December, 1976).  This was pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths; Superman was on Earth-One and Captain Marvel was on Earth-S.

In the meantime, Julis Schwartz, editor of both Superman and Shazam!, had his creative team float the idea of the Man of Steel and the Big Red Cheese duke it out without actually doing so,  And thus, Captain Thunder was born!

The good Captain, was really a young boy named Willie Fawcett, who worked as a reporter at WHAM-TV.  He met a kindly Native American medicine man named Merokee who gave Willie a belt that, when he spoke the word thunder and rubbed the belt buckle, turned Willie into the super-powered Captain Thunder.  Captain Thunder’s costume was identical to Captain Marvel’s, save for the chest emblem.

As happens so often in comic books, there was a misunderstanding between Superman and Captain Thunder that led to them battling.  Both were equally matched so neither hero got the upper hand, until Superman realized Captain Thunder was under the influence of some bad guys.  Supes executed a plan that changed Cap back into Willie, and the fight was over. 

The two parted as friends, with Captain Thunder making his way through the multiverse to return to his home, Earth-276.

Captain Thunder was the original name for Captain Marvel when Bill Parker co-created the character with C.C. Beck for Fawcett Comics in 1939.  However, Fawcett could not trademark Captain Thunder because the name was already in use at the time.  The character then was renamed Captain Marvel.

There have been hints that when the new Shazam! series by Mark Waid and Dan Mora launches in a couple of months, they may revive the Captain Thunder moniker.  I’m all for that, especially because

1.  For various reasons, which I won’t get into here, DC has abandoned use of the name Captain Marvel for the character; and

2.  Naming a character after the magic word (Shazam) which transforms him is problematic at best, because he can never identify himself by name (which is why Captain Marvel Jr. referred to himself as “CM3″); and

3.  Someone is already named Shazam - the old wizard.

[jennyboom21]

Over the next two days, we’ll be getting into all that and more with hours of presentations and deep-dive analyses. This is set to be a smallish, grassroots-y gathering—only 25 in-person campers are enrolled plus a dozen or so volunteers running the show. Meanwhile, about 300 remote Gaylors have signed up for streaming access to the learning sessions, building on the success of a virtual Gaylor summit that happened last year.

As a Gaylor myself, I’d be here even if Cosmo hadn’t sent me. I introduce myself to campers as we craft cute name tags for ourselves in the lobby of the Craigville Retreat Center. I meet Morgan, 30, who came here from conservative small-town Wisconsin, where she’s been living with her parents due to some unspecified tumult in her life. “I am desperate to be around gay people,” she tells me. When she heard about Camp Gaylore, “I jumped at the opportunity to come here and feel a sense of community.”

Paris, 25, a Boston-based attendee who grew up in Arizona, agrees. “With everything that’s happening legislatively right now, it’s really important to be able to find spaces where you’re able to be with like-minded individuals and feel safe and comfortable expressing yourself.”

Nevada, 25, a newcomer to the Gaylor realm, tells me they were able to attend only thanks to a scholarship the camp offered to defray the $350 tuition cost. “I really thought this was a dreamland that was completely out of reach for me,” they say. Just being here, in congress with others, feels like some kind of miracle.

So maybe I should revise: This weekend is about decoding Taylor Swift songs...but only sort of.

I didn’t travel far to get here, but I’ve come a long way. Four summers ago, I left my marriage to a straight man, right around the time Taylor released Lover. I had a passing familiarity with her oeuvre but didn’t consider myself much of a fan. I was crashing with friends—a lesbian couple—while searching for a new home and striving to create a more openly queer life for myself. With its pastel cover and pro-LGBTQ+ anthem “You Need to Calm Down,” Lover got a ton of airplay in that two-bedroom apartment. And the breakup songs—“Death by a Thousand Cuts,” “I Forgot That You Existed”—certainly spoke to me. But given everything I was going through, Taylor’s music felt like little more than a fluffy distraction.

Jump cut to the following July, when Taylor surprise-released folklore. Every lesbian I knew seemed weirdly excited for this album. With my divorce freshly finalized, I now had the bandwidth to dig in. I discovered Gaylor theories on TikTok and plunged into Taylor’s discography with an eye toward gay themes. For the first time, I listened—really listened—to 2017’s Reputation, an album marketed as Taylor not caring about her press coverage but could just as easily be about a secret queer romance powerful enough to blow up her life. This notion, of hiding in plain sight while inhabiting a straight-presenting persona, resonates deeply for me in queer readings of Taylor’s work.

Here at Camp Gaylore (alternately known as GayloreFest), the analysis is served up with mock-academic gravitas. “We all love to cosplay that we’re professors in this field of Gaylor education,” explains Madyson, 23, a camp co-organizer who hails from New York. To wit, the workshop lineup includes sessions like: “Darling, Everything’s on Fire”: An Exploration of The Hunger Games Through Taylor Swift’s Discography; Unpacking Parasocial Relationships: A Conversation in Favor of Imagination & Community; Friends of Fletcher: Themes in the Music and Visuals of Sapphic Singers & Songwriters; and “Now I’m Your Daisy”: Reimagining The Great Gatsby as Gilded Sapphic Fantasy.

What’s happening here is really nothing new—Gaylors are performing the kind of close reading that happens in pretty much every English lit seminar. For campers like Amanda, 30, a longtime Swiftie who discovered Gaylor theories during the pandemic while awakening to her own queerness, this interpretative exercise is more meaningful than the objective facts of Taylor’s sexuality. “I’m not over here trying to convert people like, ‘Hey, Taylor is gay, and it’s really important to me that you believe that,’” Amanda says. “It’s more about Taylor being this incredible writer who intertwines all these incredible things into her lyrics.”

“We are not the first gaggle of gays to go book a conference center and hang out with each other for a weekend just to talk and gab,” Madyson says. “It just so happens that we all met because Taylor Swift put out some bangin’-ass albums.”

“I don’t even care if she comes out,” Madyson adds. “I actually would prefer she didn’t because I think it’s more fun this way.”

After I check into my single room—a rustic BYO-bed-sheets situation—I return to the common area and settle in for the afternoon’s presentations. Remote presenters will be streaming from all over. A few campers here will be presenting too—streaming from a dedicated quiet room elsewhere on the property. In the common space, all sessions will be projected onto a wall.

And here I have to admit that I end up…not paying much attention to the material. In the best possible way, neither do many of the other campers. I watch as they focus on making friendship bracelets, add artistic flourishes to Gaylor-themed coloring pages, and paint each other’s nails. Chatty groups check in on solo folks: “Are you good by yourself? Would you like to come over here with us?” Sometimes a comfy silence envelops the room. A few campers even nap on couches, the presentation audio forming a sort of pleasant background drone.

This dynamic is striking in its chillness—different from most camps and retreats, where schedules are packed with structured group activities. Kae, a 26-year-old from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, much prefers the format here. Although Gaylor TikTok was helpful in “expediting” her awareness of her own bisexuality, she finds the noise of social media kind of bad for her mental health. Camp Gaylore feels like the 3D version of a friendly Gaylor group chat she joined on WhatsApp a few months ago, she says. “It’s nice, having a much smaller source of information and also a place where you can just be yourself and be accepted.”

Presentation topics aside, Taylor’s aura at camp is surprisingly scarce. The aesthetic is one of nostalgic/analog summer whimsy. Think: String lights and wildflowers. Salt air and disco balls. Strawberries and rainbow balloons. An activity table set up by camp staffers includes a deck of botanical oracle cards, the social-bonding game We’re Not Really Strangers, and a handful of book selections ranging from Emily Dickinson poems to contemporary works by queer authors like adrienne maree brown.

It’s almost as though the organizers plucked a handful of nice humans off the internet and closed tab on literally everything else, a welcome break. Gaylorism in general is Very Online—born on Tumblr, increasingly huge on TikTok. Along with Madyson, camp co-organizer Katie, 30, recently wrapped a popular Gaylor podcast called The Archers, the duo’s contribution to a booming cottage industry of queer-minded Swiftie content. (Madyson has already launched another pod.) Tess, 30, a London-based camp co-organizer, is a prolific Gaylor creator too. This camp is the group’s way of passing the mic to others to invite their perspectives, to “recognize the brilliance and beauty of our community,” as Tess puts it. There’s even been talk of starting a literary-style magazine that goes beyond Taylor and into the open waters of, well, gay lore. That’s why the camp name has an “e” at the end—an indicator of deeper possibilities.

Gaylor subculture has now gotten big enough to attract coverage from major media outlets, some of it less than favorable—a Salon article last fall compared Gaylors to QAnon. Many face harassment from a hostile cohort of Swifties known as Hetlors, notorious for a queerphobic insistence that Taylor is straight. Bullying from Hetlors has driven some Gaylors to go dark and wipe their social accounts, which explains why most here at Camp Gaylore have asked that Cosmo publish their first names only.

Taylor herself is outspoken in her LGBTQ+ advocacy—granted, as more of an ally. “I didn’t realize until recently that I could advocate for a community that I’m not a part of,” she told Vogue in 2019. But as many Gaylors like to point out, that’s not quite the same as Taylor declaring she’s 100 percent straight and cisgender either. For now, the details of her identity remain anyone’s guess.

“In a cisheteronormative world, we are more likely to assume people to be cis and straight until told otherwise than to assume they’re trans or queer,” says Melissa A. Fabello, PhD, a sex and relationships educator. Her group coaching session this weekend, titled “The Bisexuality Crisis,” will address this very subject.

Camp Gaylore’s idyllic seaside haven is blessedly Hetlor-free. Madyson, who sometimes struggles to socialize in groups, tells me they feel “soothed” mingling on our private stretch of beach. This weekend has always been more about reinforcing the Gaylorverse than dissecting Taylor’s suspected queerness. “It is very much for people to meet and see each other physically and be like, This community is just as real offline as it is online,” Madyson says. In the sand, they spell out GAYLORE in dozens of tiny seashells.

We head to dinner in the large dining hall for a taco buffet—a communal setup that amuses Nevada. “This is so sweet, like the positive parts of going inpatient at the psych ward,” they joke. Then an earnest elaboration: “It’s just nice that other people understand what I’m thinking. I don’t have to explain a million things. I don’t have to be like, Okay, I guess I’ll let you ignore my pronouns. It’s a very good space.”

Afterward, we gather around an outdoor firepit for s’mores and impromptu performances. One camper breaks out an acoustic guitar and shares songs she wrote during a period of homelessness. Her voice is husky and powerful—a howl of survival. A few campers pass around a bong. Inside jokes are hatched. “As cliché as it sounds, I do feel like I’ve known these people forever,” says Lee, 33, a camper from California who credits Gaylor theories with fueling her lesbian awakening seven years ago. For her, this night is “cathartic.”

In the 10 o’clock hour, everyone heads back inside to watch the livestream of the Eras Tour. This has been a ritual for many of us since Taylor hit the road in March. Lots of campers have been tracking the surprise acoustic songs she performs each night—one or two per show, with no repeats from the pre-Midnights archive unless she messes up.

Tonight, Taylor is in Pittsburgh. One member of the Gaylor community—not at camp with us but someone who’s friends with a few campers—has been publicly campaigning for Taylor to play “ME!” at this stop, a track many Gaylors love (see: the big gay energy of its music video). Taylor playing “ME!” would be everything, a definitive acknowledgement of us.

As the livestream plays, campers string together bead bracelets with Gaylor references—the letters “SITBTTEBM” (“She is the best thing that’s ever been mine”), the phrase “WIDE EYED GAYS” (an intentional misspelling of the “All Too Well” lyric). Then the first surprise song begins: It’s “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” off Fearless. Everyone groans. The second song is a miss too: “The Last Time,” from Red. So much for “ME!”

Everyone is super bummed. A few campers even cry a little bit. But there’s beauty in the heartbreak too—something profound and unifying in our shared disappointment. “Even if Taylor were to go away and never do another thing, I feel like we still have this,” Amanda tells me later. “And that’s really cool.”

The big social event of the weekend, on the second and final night, is prom. Given that it’s being held in the retreat’s tabernacle building, camp staffers have printed out a color picture of Jesus, along with big letters that spell out “LYRICS TOO?”—a cheeky nod to the fact that we’re in a house of worship but mostly a deep-cut Gaylor reference (to something once uttered by Taylor’s pal and collaborator Jack Antonoff). A tattooed camp staffer DJs from a heavily stickered laptop, next to a whirling party light that scatters rainbow beams throughout the space.

Many of our prom looks are encoded with Taylor allusions. One camper wears a tiered, ruffled frock in pastel hues, à la Taylor’s Lover era. Another, channeling the Reputation album art, dons a matching corset and skirt in newsprint-pattern fabric. Still another is turned out in the crochet crop tank Taylor wore while promoting Midnights, its colors a near-perfect match for the lesbian pride flag tacked to one wall.

“Cruel Summer”—a Gaylor fave, theoretically chronicling Taylor’s rumored relationship with supermodel Karlie Kloss—blasts from the speakers. The dance floor fills up. We scream-sing the lines about sneaking in through the garden gate, about the shape of a lover’s body being new. As the song reaches its bridge, our collective joy turns incandescent.

“It felt like 70,000 of us in the room,” Lee marvels the next day as campers pack up to leave. “This was the most magical weekend of my summer—and I’ve been to the Eras Tour twice.”

Frankie de la Cretaz is the co-author of Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of The National Women's Football League. Their work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, and more.